Trend Micro's redone security suites for 2011 introduce new product names and a new emphasis on cloud-based protection. Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security, Trend Micro Antivirus+, and Trend Micro Maximum Security include the overhauled cloud-based Smart Protection Network proprietary engine to protect against viruses, malware, phishing attacks, and other threats.

The suites are notable for the heavy reliance on cloud-based technology and Trend Micro's emphasis on its Smart Scan tech. According to the company, this works by constantly scanning for threats when connected to the Internet, and utilizing locally cached databases when working offline. The offline database includes protections against viruses and malware that are known to spread by USB keys.

Unlike many of its competitors, Trend Micro does not offer a firewall component, instead relying on the default Windows firewall.

The products differ similarly to many of Trend Micro's competitors. The Titanium Antivirus+ program offers the most basic protection, including antivirus and anti-malware guards, drive-by download protection, and the ability to block links to malicious sites and downloads in instant messages and e-mails. It retails for $39.95 for one PC.

Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security protects against the same as Titanium Antivirus+, as well as offering protection against unauthorized changes to your already-installed programs, spam blocking, Windows firewall optimization, parental controls and data theft guards. It retails for $49.95 for one computer.

Titanium Maximum Security retails for $59.95 for one computer. All three are in the mid-range of the cost for their respective feature sets.

We heard the rumor on Friday that BlackBerry-maker RIM snapped up Data Viz, makers of the popular productivity app Documents To Go, but it wasn't until Tuesday that RIM confirmed the purchase to CNET with a statement:

RIM has acquired some of the assets of DataViz and hired the majority of its employees to focus on supporting the BlackBerry platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the transaction was not material to RIM in the context of RIM's financial results.

The buyout price may be pocket change to RIM, who isn't telling, but the acquisition isn't without impact or import.

Although we know from PreCentral that the app won't support WebOS, it's uncertain if or how quickly RIM will dial down support for the moneymaking Documents To Go on other mobile platforms.

The premium version of the product--a freemium office productivity suite that can view, edit, and create word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDFs--has been in a price and features war with rival Quickoffice on multiple mobile platforms. Fifteen dollars a pop for iPhone business professionals buying Documents To Go for iPhone isn't a business to quickly pull from, and the app is also available on for mobile operating systems like Android and Windows Mobile.

Documents To Go has been around since the early days of mobile apps, but RIM only began bundling the free version of Documents To Go on the BlackBerry Bold in November 2008, a boon since the phone didn't have any other native documents viewer. Now it will be interesting to see what RIM does with the company's software for itself, and if it can use Documents To Go, or even the Microsoft Exchange app Road Sync, to help differentiate the Blackberry brand.

Originally posted at Dialed In

The fifth Firefox 4 beta makes some small feature changes to the in-development browser, bringing a new audio API to the table, revamping its menu, and turning on hardware acceleration by default. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Firefox 4 beta 5 continues Mozilla's new beta release schedule, marked by more frequent releases and smaller feature revisions per update.

The most visual change to the beta is the redone menu in the Windows version, which returns a lot of functionality that had been missing from the menu in previous betas. The single-column menu has been replaced with a two-tiered, two-colored menu. The locally stored Help menu options have returned, and the add-ons menu is available in a tweaked color scheme as a secondary window again, too. Cut, copy, and paste have returned to the menu in icon-only form, and more of Firefox's feature managers, such as bookmarks, history, and the Options menu, have their previous access options restored.

The audio data API is an under-the-hood coding option that gives programmers the ability to "interact with sound...in all the creative ways that video and images allow," according to a blog post by Mozilla's director of Firefox, Mike Beltzner. The API will allow developers to expose raw audio data, display the data visual using the HTML5 < canvas > tag, calculate and visual demonstrate audio spectrum, apply audio filters, and other visual representations of the audio content.

The hardware acceleration that debuted in the previous beta has now been turned on by default, indicating Mozilla's confidence in its effectiveness. However, this is still a beta, so it's reasonable to expect further development tweaks to the hardware acceleration. Mozilla is tracking some buggy behavior that might be related to hardware acceleration.

Firefox 4 beta 5 also debuts support for an expansion of the HTTPS security feature. Called HTTP Strict Transport Security, or HSTS, it will force Firefox to use HTTPS. If the browser can't establish a secure connection, it won't resolve the URL even if there is an insecure connection available. It's a small change that could have big implications for accessing e-commerce and banking sites, for example.

A feature freeze had been planned for this beta, but it was pushed back to the sixth beta at the beginning of September. The changelog details a complete list of changes in Firefox 4 beta 5.

I'm Aaron Smith, and I'm the product manager for CNET Downloads. Today I get the pleasure of writing about something that the CNET team built -- a brand new software product called CNET TechTracker Plus. This is an upgrade from CNET TechTracker, our free application that keeps software up-to-date. Since we launched TechTracker about a year ago, it has become wildly popular. People recognize that keeping software up-to-date is important and that it improves security, fixes bugs, and gives you the latest features. With today's launch of TechTracker Plus, we are going beyond updates to give you a more complete way to manage software.

TechTracker Plus lets you perform installs, uninstalls, updates, and downloads all in one place. We've also added some TechTracker Plus features to CNET Downloads web pages--these features streamline installs and are visible only to TechTracker Plus customers. Our goal was to leverage the power of the CNET Downloads software catalog - the largest catalog of its kind - for more than just software updates and downloads.

If you aren't yet using CNET TechTracker for your updates, we've recently given it a facelift so now would be a good time to check it out. And, if you're ready to go beyond software updates, check out CNET TechTracker Plus! We've released it with a special introductory price of $19.99. We at CNET Downloads are really proud of what we launched today.

It has been a lot of hard work, but completely worth it. I am honored to be a part of this team. We all sincerely hope that CNET TechTracker Plus makes managing your software easier.

Originally posted at Product Development Blog